Evanston Mayor and former Illinois Representative and Senator Daniel Biss narrowly defeated Gen Z candidate Kat Abu-Ghazaleh in Tuesday’s Democratic primary for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, emerging from a race that tested the generational divide in one of the most reliably blue seats in the country.
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Biss, 48, has long been a fixture in North Shore politics. He was a mathematician by training and earned a Ph.D. He received his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and later taught at the University of Chicago before entering public service. He served in the Illinois House and Senate from 2011 to 2019, building a reputation as a policy-driven progressive focused on campaign finance reform, voting access, and structural government reform.
Mayor Daniel Biss addresses supporters after winning the Democratic primary for Illinois’ 9th Congressional District.CBS Chicago
He ran for governor in 2018 as an insurgent candidate, but ultimately lost to Democratic candidate and current governor, John Johnson. J.B. Pritzker. In 2021, Mr. Biss was elected Mayor of Evanston. The city has become a national touchpoint for progressive policies, including pioneering local reparations programs and promoting public financing of elections.
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As mayor, Biss has also taken a clear stance on federal immigration enforcement. In December, he confronted U.S. Border Patrol Chief Greg Bovino and federal agents during an operation in Evanston, where he approached and recorded an undercover officer at a gas station where residents had gathered. The two had a brief conversation, and before leaving the scene, Bovino reportedly told Biss that the agents were “there to make your city safe.” Chicago PBS affiliate station WTTW.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino confronts Evanston Mayor and Congressional candidate Daniel Biss as he stops at a gas station while on patrol in Evanston, Illinois, December 17, 2025. Scott Olson/Getty Images
In the congressional primary race, Mr. Biss focused on his governing history and touted himself as an experienced candidate who could play an active role at the federal level. His base in Evanston and the surrounding North Shore suburbs, along with his longstanding ties to Democratic politics, helped anchor his campaign.
But his campaign was overshadowed by private information disclosures in the final hours. On Tuesday, as voters headed to the polls, Mr. Biss acknowledged what his campaign described as an “unwise” relationship with a former student from when he was a 26-year-old lecturer at the University of Chicago in 2004. According to To the Daily Northwestern. The woman, who was 20 at the time, said the relationship began after the course ended but raised concerns about power relationships.
related: Illinois Democratic candidate Kat Abu-Ghazaleh advocates for Justice Department indictment
After the race was called, Biss hailed his victory as personal and ideological, thanking his crowded opponents and showing unity moving forward. “This was a tough race,” he said, adding that the field of 15 candidates reflected a “pivotal moment” for the country. He thanked Abu Ghazaleh and congratulated her on the successful outcome of the race, adding that he looked forward to working with her and the others running for the nomination.
He also paid tribute to retiring U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, calling her “the conscience of our district and the conscience of Congress,” and credited her support with contributing to his victory.
Biss cast the results as a broader test for Democrats and urged a more confrontational stance in national politics. “Do we make concessions in advance or do we fight?” he said. “Are we going to further strengthen our progressive values, or are we going to back away from protecting the most vulnerable?”
“The voters have spoken loud and clear,” he added. “We will rise. We will fight. We will not retreat.”
He outlined an economic message centered on inequality, calling for “affordable housing for all, universal childcare, universal health care” and a tax system that requires the richest to “pay their share.”
Biss, who is Jewish, also leaned into the campaign’s defining foreign policy issues, explaining that his positions on Israel and Gaza are rooted in both personal history and moral urgency. He spoke of Israel as a refuge for families of Holocaust survivors, but also said that “the oppression of the Palestinian people is an unacceptable stain on the world and on the Jewish people and must end.”
He also targeted outside spending in the campaign, particularly from groups aligned with AIPAC, which supported state Sen. Laura Fine, who finished third behind Mr. Abu-Ghazaleh and Mr. Biss. These groups spent millions of dollars on initial attacks on Bis, and in the final stages they shifted their focus primarily to Abu Ghazaleh, including ads suggesting she held right-wing views and efforts to back another progressive candidate, Bushra Amiwala.
“The 9th District is not for sale,” he said. “So much for AIPAC, tonight may be the last time we hear their name.”
Abu Ghazaleh, 26, a former journalist whose reporting on right-wing extremism won him national support, was a sharp contrast to Bis. Her campaign energized young voters, garnered attention online and positioned the race as a choice between a new generation of political voices and establishment figures in the Democratic Party. In the end, Biss beat her by 4 percentage points.
Throughout his career, Bis Supports LGBTQ+ While serving as a state representative, he won rights such as marriage equality and non-discrimination protections.
Biss’ victory in the primary makes him the front-runner to win the seat in November in a district that has long been held by Democrats.
Watch Daniel Biss speak to supporters after the win below.
– YouTube www.youtube.com
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